One of the most interesting and intense rivalries in the NBA has to be the Lakers and Clippers. Their enduring battle over Los Angeles has spanned many years now, and that was made evident on Friday night when the two teams crossed paths for the first time this season.
After a hard-fought game, the Clippers walked away with the victory, sending the struggling Lakers to 12-12 on the season.
After the game, LAC big man Isaiah Hartenstein flexed on Twitter, telling fans “big-time W tonight on to the next one!!”
Naturally, Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn had to respond with a little reminder about who really “runs LA.”
Kendrick Nunn 👀
(h/t @Heat4life01 ) pic.twitter.com/4YJHIvuOJU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 4, 2021
For most of the NBA’s history, the Lakers have held a tight grip around the city of Los Angeles. Stars like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James have helped the franchise stay on top of the basketball world with 17 Championships.
The Clippers haven’t been nearly as successful. Without counting the past 10 years, the Clips have consistently been among the worst teams in the league. Needless to say, history is not on their side.
Today, however, the two teams are on relatively even footing and it has sparked some new life into their rivalry.
“I got no regrets,” said former Clippers guard Patrick Beverley. “Wouldn’t change anything. We put on for the city. We turned this Laker city into a Clipper city and that’s all you can ask for. We gave the fans something to be excited about. We gave the city something to be excited about. People wanted to see the Clippers play for whatever reason. We appreciate that.”
The Lakers’ 2020 title run certainly helped cement their claim as L.A.’s best, but it remains to be seen if they can return to their dominant ways anytime soon.
For now, the Clippers are the ones with the latest victory and there is a sense that it could go that way for a while. The fact is, no matter how soon Kendrick Nunn returns, the Purple and Gold have a lot of things to figure out before they can hope to be respected and feared like they were not too long ago.
In the meantime, they’ll continue the battle on social media.
